Becoming a parent really does change your perspective on things. And there's no way for me to look at that picture of police taking Miriam Carey's 18-month-old daughter--the same age, roughly, as my own daughter--out of her bullet-riddled Infiniti without wondering if it was really necessary to shoot an unarmed mother.

Others are asking the same question. Obviously, police would have careful after the Navy Yard shooting. And it's not clear that they did anything wrong. Still, it's not clear that Miriam Carey needed to die to end the situation. I'm not trying to make this about race, or police brutality--just asking a question that troubles me.

Becoming a parent really does change your perspective on things. And there's no way for me to look at that picture of police taking Miriam Carey's 18-month-old daughter--the same age, roughly, as my own daughter--out of her bullet-riddled Infiniti without wondering if it was really necessary to shoot an unarmed mother.

Others are asking the same question. Obviously, police would have careful after the Navy Yard shooting. And it's not clear that they did anything wrong. Still, it's not clear that Miriam Carey needed to die to end the situation. I'm not trying to make this about race, or police brutality--just asking a question that troubles me.

Crazy people do crazy things. The problem with something like this in Washington DC is that the first thought is of terrorism. And terror threats, even suspected terror threats, have to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

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Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Honestly, after watching the videos, I would have taken the same actions as the police. They didn't have a time machine or mind reading device. what they had was an active threat in front of them and a fast decision to make before she became more of a threat to the public or other officers. All of this talk about how they 'should have shot the tires out' is Hollywood, not real life. They had no clue if she was armed or if her car was a bomb. She was given the opportunity when they blocked her in to get out of the car and stop, but she didn't. Instead she rammed them, tried to run them over, and kept going. How would that be different than, for example, a suicide bomber trying to get through?

But what if they did 'shoot her tires out' and it actually worked (which it doesn't work the way people think). They knew there was a child in the car and that could have resulted in a hostage situation with the child, with far worse results.

Considering reports have about a dozen shots being fired yet the child was unharmed shows a carefulness on the police's part.

Crazy people do crazy things. The problem with something like this in Washington DC is that the first thought is of terrorism. And terror threats, even suspected terror threats, have to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

If she were a suicide bomber attempting to get a vehicle close to the Capitol, how would she have acted differently? Her actions were a immediate threat.

famousdayandyear

Well-trained LE (especially deployed in DC) understand the number one threat is the White House. Could it be an armed terrorist? Unlikely. The top threat would be the *car* used as a weapon. Suicide bomber with child on board as cover? LE does not second guess when multiple civilian lives may be at stake. Tragic--but the way the real world operates today.

A dazed, lost, confused individual does not drive in DC in the manner I saw on existing video.

We used to have a legal-system that was required to sentence people to death.

Now, you can be justifiably executed based on the mindset of the police officer(s) alone.

There is something fundamentally wrong with that...

She sentenced herself by using her vehicle as a weapon. There is little difference in this situation and someone holding a gun firing on the public. The police have an obligation not only to their own self defense (as does every citizen in this country) but also the defense of those they are tasked to protect. In this case, her weapon happened to be a two thousand pound vehicle.

The right of self defense and to defend others doesn't stop with private citizens.

At that, if a private citizen had stopped someone using their car as a weapon in the same way, we would be cheering and using it as evidence of why the 2nd Amendment is important, not complaining they were acting as someone enacting a death sentence (which is usually the argument of the left when a private citizen shoots a perp, such as in the Zimmerman trial.)

She sentenced herself by using her vehicle as a weapon. There is little difference in this situation and someone holding a gun firing on the public. The police have an obligation not only to their own self defense (as does every citizen in this country) but also the defense of those they are tasked to protect. In this case, her weapon happened to be a two thousand pound vehicle.

That's simply a rationalization.

The police have no obligation to defend or protect anyone. Several Supreme Court decisions have clarified that.

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Except this woman didn't get that right. The SS agent fired on her first 'and then the chase was on' according to the article I posted yesterday.

And a rationalization is not the same as being rational. Look it up.

She is the one taking aggressive action, ramming them with her car and being a threat to the general public. She was basically Trayvon on wheels. (not a racial comment but a comment on her choice of actions).

"Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981) is an oft-quoted[2] District of Columbia Court of Appeals (equivalent to a state supreme court) case that held police do not have a duty to provide police services to individuals, even if a dispatcher promises help to be on the way, except when police develop a special duty to particular individuals."

Obama was in no danger unless he was standing in the middle of the street...

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

She is the one taking aggressive action, ramming them with her car and being a threat to the general public. She was basically Trayvon on wheels. (not a racial comment but a comment on her choice of actions).

As I posted yesterday, the headlights on her car weren't even broken.

You're drinking the Kool-Aid...

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

The front bumper was dented, the side of the car was dented, and the rear was smashed up pretty badly. The video shows her ramming the police in reverse and driving at a high rate of speed around the public (80mph +). You choose to judge her aggressiveness based on if her headlights were intact?

The front bumper was dented, the side of the car was dented, and the rear was smashed up pretty badly. The video shows her ramming the police in reverse and driving at a high rate of speed around the public (80mph +). You choose to judge her aggressiveness based on if her headlights were intact?

If she was 'ramming' people, I would expect the headlights to be broken, yes. She was trying to get away because the SS agent shot at her. The 'chase' started after that.

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But I have to ask, what would you have done differently?

She was stopped when she was executed, wasn't she?

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

If she was 'ramming' people, I would expect the headlights to be broken, yes. She was trying to get away because the SS agent shot at her. The 'chase' started after that.

She was stopped when she was executed, wasn't she?

Here is the video, they didn't shoot until after she rammed them and was accelerating towards them trying to get away. They had her surrounded and were trying to open her doors to get her out. She then backed up, ramming them and almost hitting several officers. (seconds 1-30). That is when they upholstered their guns and shot (Second 25-27). Most guns were even holstered or in safe position up until she threw her car in reverse and rammed them.